Cleaner for vehicles, bracket for cleaners for vehicles, and cleaner unit for vehicles

ABSTRACT

A cleaner unit for vehicles include: a plurality of vehicle onboard cameras arranged in a row in an air sending-out direction, a multiple-blade fan for sending out the air jetted to the plurality of vehicle onboard cameras in the air sending-out direction, and one air duct for conveying the air coming from the multiple-blade fan to the plurality of vehicle onboard cameras. The air duct has a partition plate arranged along a direction that intersects the air sending-out direction, causing the direction of some of the air to be changed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a cleaner for vehicles, a bracket forcleaners for vehicles, and a cleaner unit for vehicles.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, vehicles equipped with an in-vehicle camera whichcaptures images of situations around the vehicle increases. A lens,which serves as an imaging surface, of the in-vehicle camera may becontaminated by rain, mud, or the like. Therefore, in order to removeforeign matter such as water droplets adhering to the lens, a devicewhich blows a cleaning liquid, compressed air, or the like to the lensof the in-vehicle camera to remove the foreign matter is known (seePatent Literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2001-171491

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

When there are multiple cleaning objects, a tube configured to send airto an ejection port through which the air is ejected is provided foreach cleaning object. However, an overall structure of a cleaner unitfor vehicles may be increased in size due to such a structure.

In a case of a foreign matter removing device which ejects a cleaningliquid, the cleaning liquid may remain at a tip end of a nozzle when thecleaning liquid is ejected, and water droplets may be reflected on thein-vehicle camera. Water droplets such as rain adhering to the tip endof the nozzle may also be reflected on the in-vehicle camera.

Attachment of the foreign matter removing device is performed whileadjusting a position of the nozzle which ejects the cleaning liquid orthe air, a position of an air guide tube which conveys the air to thenozzle, or the like relative to a position of the in-vehicle camera.Therefore, such attachment becomes complicated. Positional misalignmentof the nozzle or the air guide tube may also occur relative to thein-vehicle camera.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaner unit forvehicles capable of conveying air to a plurality of cleaning objectswith a simple structure.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaner for vehiclesand a cleaner unit for vehicles which prevent water droplets adhering toa tip end of a nozzle from being detected by an in-vehicle sensor.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a bracket for cleanersfor vehicles and a cleaner unit for vehicles capable of preventingpositional misalignment of an air guide tube relative to an cleaningobject with a simple configuration.

Solution to Problem

A cleaner unit for vehicles according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure includes:

a plurality of cleaning objects arranged side by side in a firstdirection;

an air blowing portion configured to send air, which is to be ejected tothe plurality of cleaning objects, in the first direction; and

an air guide tube configured to convey the air from the air blowingportion toward the plurality of cleaning objects, the air guide tubebeing single.

The air guide tube includes a partition plate arranged midway in thefirst direction along a direction intersecting with the first direction,and changes a direction of a part of the air.

According to the above configuration, since the partition plate is usedto change the direction of the part of the air, the air can be conveyedto the plurality of cleaning objects by the single air guide tube.Therefore, the air can be conveyed to the plurality of cleaning objectswith a simple structure.

The air blowing portion may also include an outlet through which the airis sent in the first direction.

The air guide tube may extend in the first direction from the outlet ofthe air blowing portion.

The partition plate may overlap a part of the outlet of the air blowingportion in the first direction.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to more effectivelychange the direction of the part of the air conveyed in the firstdirection by the partition plate.

The plurality of cleaning objects may also include a first cleaningobject and a second cleaning object, the second cleaning object beinglocated farther from the air blowing portion than the first cleaningobject.

The air guide tube may include a first opening corresponding to thefirst cleaning object and a second opening corresponding to the secondcleaning object.

The partition plate may extend toward the first opening.

According to the above configuration, the part of the air can be guidedtoward the first opening corresponding to the first cleaning objectwhile using the partition plate to change the direction of the part ofthe air.

The first opening may be formed at a position which does not overlapwith the outlet of the air blowing portion in the first direction.

The air guide tube may include a first inner surface which connects theoutlet of the air blowing portion and the first opening.

The first inner surface may extend from the outlet of the air blowingportion toward the first opening.

According to the above configuration, the air can be guided by the firstinner surface toward the first opening corresponding to the firstcleaning object.

The air guide tube may include a second inner surface which connects theoutlet of the air blowing portion and the second opening.

The second inner surface may include a first portion extending in thefirst direction from the outlet of the air blowing portion, and a secondportion extending from the first portion toward the second opening.

According to the above configuration, the air can be conveyed in thefirst direction by the first portion of the second inner surface, whilethe air can be guided by the second portion toward the second openingcorresponding to the second cleaning object.

The air guide tube may include a guide plate extending toward the secondopening from an end portion of the partition plate, the end portionbeing opposite to an end portion connected to the first opening.

According to the above configuration, the air can be guided by the guideplate toward the second opening corresponding to the second cleaningobject.

The partition plate may extend along a direction orthogonal to the firstdirection.

According to the above configuration, the direction of the part of theair can be changed by using the partition plate.

A cleaner for vehicles according to an aspect of the present disclosureincludes:

a nozzle configured to eject at least one of a cleaning liquid and airtoward a detection surface of an in-vehicle sensor.

An end portion of one side of a tip end of the nozzle in a widthdirection extends to a downstream side in an ejection direction ascompared with a central portion.

According to the above configuration, since water droplets adhering tothe central portion of the tip end of the nozzle flow to the endportion, the water droplets adhering to the nozzle tip end can beprevented from being detected by the in-vehicle sensor.

End portions of both side of the tip end of the nozzle in the widthdirection may extend to the downstream side in the ejection direction ascompared with the central portion.

According to the above configuration, since the water droplets adheringto the central portion of the tip end of the nozzle flow to the both endportions, the water droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzle canbe prevented from being reflected on the in-vehicle sensor.

The end portion of the tip end of the nozzle may include a contactportion which is in contact with the in-vehicle sensor.

According to the above configuration, since the water droplets adheringto the central portion of the tip end of the nozzle flow to thein-vehicle sensor via the contact portion of the end portion, the waterdroplets can be prevented from falling from the end portion of the tipend of the nozzle.

The tip end of the nozzle may extend to the downstream side in theejection direction while being curved from the central portion to theend portion.

According to the above configuration, since the water droplets adheringto the central portion of the tip end of the nozzle smoothly flow to theend portion, the water droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzlecan be prevented from being detected by the in-vehicle sensor.

The nozzle may include a plurality of nozzles, and tip ends of theplurality of nozzles may have shapes different from each other.

According to the above configuration, nozzles having different tip endshapes can be used in accordance with shapes and directions of eachsurface to be cleaned of a plurality of in-vehicle sensors. For example,there may be a difference in an ejection direction length between thecentral portion and the end portion of the tip end of each nozzle.Alternatively, there may be a difference in a width direction lengthbetween the central portion and the end portion of the tip end of thenozzle. Alternatively, there may be a difference in a degree of curvefrom the central portion to the end portion of the tip end of thenozzle. Therefore, the water droplets adhering to the central portion ofthe tip end of the nozzle can be efficiently caused to flow to the endportion in accordance with the shape and the direction of each surfaceto be cleaned of the plurality of in-vehicle sensors.

The nozzle may eject the cleaning liquid and the air toward thedetection surface of the in-vehicle sensor.

According to the above configuration, for example, the nozzle ejects theair after ejecting the cleaning liquid. As a result, the cleaning liquidremaining at the tip end of the nozzle after ejecting the cleaningliquid can be prevented from being detected by the in-vehicle sensor.

A cleaner unit for vehicles according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure includes:

the cleaner for vehicles; and

an in-vehicle sensor.

According to the above configuration, since the water droplets adheringto the central portion of the tip end of the nozzle flow to the endportion, the water droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzle can beprevented from being detected by the in-vehicle sensor.

A width of the tip end of the nozzle may be larger than a width of thedetection surface of the in-vehicle sensor.

According to the above configuration, since the water droplets adheringto the central portion of the tip end of the nozzle flow to the endportion, the water droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzle can bemore reliably prevented from being detected by the in-vehicle sensor.

A bracket for cleaners for vehicles according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure includes:

an attachment portion configured to attach an cleaning object; and

an air guide tube forming portion configured to form at least a part ofan air guide tube which conveys air to be ejected to the cleaningobject.

According to the above configuration, the air guide tube forming portionis provided on the bracket to which the cleaning object is attached.Therefore, positional misalignment of the air guide tube relative to thecleaning object can be prevented with a simple configuration.

The attachment portion may include a plurality of attachment portions,and the air guide tube forming portion may include a branch portionwhich branches the air guide tube forming portion in association withthe plurality of attachment portions.

According to the above configuration, the air guide tube forming portioncan be branched by the branch portion, and the air can be conveyed toeach cleaning object.

The bracket may further include an accommodating portion configured toaccommodate an air blowing portion which sends the air, which is to beejected to the plurality of cleaning objects, to the air guide tube. Theaccommodating portion may communicate with the air guide tube formingportion.

According to the above configuration, the accommodating portionconfigured to accommodate the air blowing portion is provided on thebracket which includes the air guide tube forming portion. Therefore,positional misalignment of the air blowing portion relative to the airguide tube can be prevented with a simple configuration.

An accommodating portion configured to accommodate an air blowingportion which sends the air, which is to be ejected to the plurality ofcleaning objects, to the air guide tube may also be provided. Theaccommodating portion may communicate with the air guide tube formingportion.

The plurality of attachment portions may include a back cameraattachment portion configured to attach a back camera and a rear cameraattachment portion configured to attach a rear camera.

The accommodating portion, the back camera attachment portion, and therear camera attachment portion may be arranged side by side in such anorder.

The air guide tube forming portion may extend from the accommodatingportion along an arrangement direction of the back camera attachmentportion and the rear camera attachment portion.

According to the above configuration, the air from the air blowingportion is conveyed by the air guide tube forming portion along thearrangement direction of the back camera attachment portion and the rearcamera attachment portion. Therefore, it is easy for the air to smoothlyflow to the rear camera attachment portion which is located farther fromthe accommodating portion of the air blowing portion. Therefore, alarger amount of air can be conveyed from the air blowing portion to therear camera.

A cleaner unit for vehicles according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure includes:

the bracket for cleaners for vehicles;

an cleaning object attached to the attachment portion of the bracket forcleaners for vehicles; and

an air blowing portion configured to send air, which is to be ejected tothe cleaning object, to an air guide tube.

According to the above configuration, the air guide tube forming portionis provided on the bracket to which the cleaning object is attached.Therefore, positional misalignment of the air guide tube relative to thecleaning object can be prevented with a simple configuration.

The cleaner unit for vehicles may further includes a cover configured toform a part of the air guide tube, and a nozzle which is integrallyformed with the cover and configured to eject the air to the cleaningobject. The cover may cover the air guide tube forming portion to formthe air guide tube together with the air guide tube forming portion.

According to the above configuration, the nozzle is integrally formedwith the cover which forms the air guide tube together with the airguide tube forming portion. Therefore, positional misalignment of thenozzle relative to the air guide tube can be prevented with a simpleconfiguration.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure, the cleaner unit for vehicles,which is capable of conveying the air to the plurality of cleaningobjects with a simple structure, can be provided.

Moreover, according to the present disclosure, the cleaner for vehiclesand the cleaner unit for vehicles, which prevent the water dropletsadhering to the tip end of the nozzle from being detected by thein-vehicle sensor, can be provided.

Moreover, according to the present disclosure, the bracket for cleanersfor vehicles and the cleaner unit for vehicles, which is capable ofpreventing the positional misalignment of the air guide tube relative tothe cleaning object with a simple configuration, can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vehicle equipped with acleaner unit for vehicles of a first embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates the cleaner unit for vehicles of FIG. 1 as viewedfrom a vehicle rear side.

FIG. 3 illustrates the cleaner unit for vehicles of FIG. 1 as viewedfrom a vehicle lateral side.

FIG. 4A is a front view of the cleaner unit for vehicles.

FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view of the cleaner unit forvehicles.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit for vehicles takenalong line V-V of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a multi-blade fan.

FIG. 7 is an axial direction cross-sectional view of the multi-bladefan.

FIG. 8 is a radial direction cross-sectional view of the multi-bladefan.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit for vehicles takenalong line IX-IX of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cleaner unit for vehicles to whicha connecting hose is connected.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit for vehicles takenalong line XI-XI of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit for vehiclestaken along line XIIA-XIIA of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit for vehiclestaken along line XIIB-XIIB of FIG. 2.

FIG. 13A illustrates an ejection port of a back camera nozzle.

FIG. 13B illustrates an ejection port of a rear camera nozzle.

FIG. 14A illustrates a rear camera and the rear camera nozzle.

FIG. 14B illustrates the rear camera and the rear camera nozzle.

FIG. 15A illustrates a rear camera nozzle of Modification 1.

FIG. 15B illustrates a rear camera nozzle of Modification 2.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a cleaner unit for vehicles according to asecond embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates an in-vehicle camera and a nozzle of a cleaner unitfor vehicles according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates an ejection port of the nozzle of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a multi-blade fan of a modification.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-blade fan of themodification.

FIG. 21 illustrates a connection relationship between a support portionand a cage portion of the multi-blade fan of the modification.

FIG. 22A is an axial direction cross-sectional view of the multi-bladefan of the modification.

FIG. 22B is an axial direction cross-sectional view of the multi-bladefan of the modification.

FIG. 23A illustrates the cage portion of the multi-blade fan of themodification.

FIG. 23B illustrates a state in which the cage portion is attached to amotor of the multi-blade fan of the modification.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings. Dimensions of members illustrated in thedrawings may be different from actual dimensions of the respectivemembers for convenience of description.

In the description of the present embodiment, a “left-right direction”,an “up-down direction”, and a “front-rear direction” will beappropriately referred to for convenience of description. Suchdirections are relative directions set for cleaner units 1 and 201 forvehicles illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 16. A side of the cleaner unit 1for vehicles on which a bracket cover 6 is provided is referred to as afront side, and an opposite side thereof is referred to as a rear side.In the drawings, “U” refers to an upper side, “D” refers to a lowerside, “F” refers to a front side, “B” refers to a rear side, “R” refersto a right side, and “L” refers to a left side.

First Embodiment

Hereinafter, the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles which includes a cleaner 3for vehicles according to a first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1is a schematic view illustrating a vehicle V equipped with the cleanerunit 1 for vehicles of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates thecleaner unit 1 for vehicles of FIG. 1 as viewed from the rear side ofthe vehicle V. FIG. 3 illustrates the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles ofFIG. 1 as viewed from a lateral side of the vehicle V. FIG. 4A is afront view of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles. FIG. 4B is an explodedperspective view of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles. FIG. 5 is across-sectional view of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles taken along lineV-V of FIG. 4A.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle V includes the cleaner unit 1 forvehicles, a tank 100, a motor pump 101, and a vehicle electronic controlunit (ECU) 102.

Cleaner Unit 1 for Vehicles

The cleaner unit 1 for vehicles includes an in-vehicle camera 2, whichis a cleaning object, and the cleaner 3 for vehicles. The cleaner unit 1for vehicles cleans foreign matter adhering to the in-vehicle camera 2(water droplets, mud, dust, and the like) by the cleaner 3 for vehiclesthrough using a cleaning liquid and/or air. For example, the cleaner 3for vehicles takes in air from outside and blows the taken air to thein-vehicle camera 2. The cleaner 3 for vehicles blows the cleaningliquid from the tank 100 to the in-vehicle camera 2 at predeterminedtiming based on control of the vehicle ECU 102.

The cleaner unit 1 for vehicles is mounted on a rear portion of thevehicle V. For example, the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles is attached toan outer panel of the rear portion of the vehicle V from the outside,and is covered from the upper side by a garnish.

The tank 100 stores the cleaning liquid to be ejected from the cleanerunit 1 for vehicles. The motor pump 101 pumps the cleaning liquid storedin the tank 100 to the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles based on a controlsignal from the vehicle ECU 102. The tank 100 and the motor pump 101 arearranged, for example, in a bonnet of the vehicle V. The motor pump 101is connected to the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles via a connecting hose103. The tank 100 and the motor pump 101 may also be arranged on therear side of the vehicle V. The tank 100 and the motor pump 101 may alsoserve as a cleaning liquid tank and a motor pump of a window washerdevice (not illustrated) configured to eject the cleaning liquid so asto clean a front window and a rear window.

The vehicle ECU 102 controls the vehicle V. The vehicle ECU 102 controlsthe motor pump 101 such that the cleaning liquid in the tank 100 isejected from a nozzle 9 of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles illustratedin FIG. 2 toward the in-vehicle camera 2 which serves as the cleaningobject.

In-Vehicle Camera 2

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle camera 2 includes a back camera2A and a rear camera 2B. The back camera 2A acquires an image of thevicinity of the host vehicle V behind the vehicle V when the vehicle Vis moved backward. For example, information which is output from theback camera 2A so as to confirm presence of an obstacle near the hostvehicle V when the vehicle V is parked can be used.

The rear camera 2B constantly acquires an image of the rear side of thevehicle V. The rear camera 2B is, for example, an inner mirror camera.The inner mirror camera refers to a camera configured to photograph asituation (video) of the rear side which can be confirmed by an innermirror (back mirror). The inner mirror camera operates at least whilethe engine of the vehicle V is on. For example, information output fromthe rear camera 2B so as to confirm presence or absence of anothervehicle which is going to overtake the host vehicle V from behind can beused.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles isattached to the vehicle V such that the back camera 2A faces obliquelyrearward and downward of the vehicle V while the rear camera 2B facesstraight rearward of the vehicle V.

Cleaner 3 for Vehicles

The cleaner 3 for vehicles cleans foreign matter adhering to the backcamera 2A and the rear camera 2B by ejecting cleaning liquid and/or air.As illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 5, the cleaner 3 for vehicles includes amulti-blade fan 4, a bracket 5, a bracket cover 6, and a filter 7. Thecleaner 3 for vehicles also includes an air guide tube 8 and the nozzle9. The multi-blade fan 4 is an example of an air blowing portion and anon-displacement type air blowing portion. The bracket 5 and the bracketcover 6 are an example of a bracket.

Multi-Blade Fan 4

First, the multi-blade fan 4 will be described mainly with reference toFIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-bladefan 4. FIG. 7 is an axial direction cross-sectional view of themulti-blade fan 4. FIG. 8 is a radial direction cross-sectional view ofthe multi-blade fan 4. In the following description, for convenience, aside of the multi-blade fan 4, on which an impeller 11 of a multi-bladefan body portion 10 is provided, is referred to as a front side, and aside opposite thereto is referred to as a rear side.

The multi-blade fan 4 is configured to continuously take in air from theoutside and continuously send out the taken air. As illustrated in FIG.6, the multi-blade fan 4 includes the multi-blade fan body portion 10, adriving portion 20, and a vibration-proof portion 30. The multi-bladefan body portion 10 is an example of an air blowing portion body.

The multi-blade fan body portion 10 is configured to take in air to beejected to the in-vehicle camera 2 and send out the taken air. Themulti-blade fan body portion 10 includes the impeller 11, a housing 12,and a support portion 13.

The impeller 11 is capable of being rotated around a rotation axis Ax bythe driving portion 20. The impeller 11 includes a disk-shaped mainplate 11 a and a plurality of blades 11 b. The plurality of blades 11 bare formed to extend in a radial direction. The plurality of blades 11 bare attached to the main plate 11 a so as to form an annular shape. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the main plate 11 a includes a cylindrical shaftportion 11 c which extends from a rear surface along the rotation axisAx. The shaft portion 11 c includes a rotation shaft hole 11 d intowhich a rotation shaft 21 b of a motor 21 of the driving portion 20 isinserted. When the motor 21 is driven, the shaft portion 11 c of themain plate 11 a is also rotated together with rotation of the rotationshaft 21 b of the motor 21, and the impeller 11 is rotated around therotation axis Ax.

The housing 12 has a substantially doughnut-shaped internal spacetherein, and the impeller 11 is accommodated in the internal space. Thehousing 12 includes an air intake port 12 a, an air outlet 12 b, and adrain port 12 c (see FIG. 4B). The air intake port 12 a is an openingthrough which air is taken in from the outside. The air outlet 12 b isan opening through which the air taken in from the air intake port 12 ais sent out. The drain port 12 c is an opening through which water whichhas entered the multi-blade fan 4 is discharged. The air intake port 12a is opened on an extension line of the rotation axis Ax of the impeller11. The air outlet 12 b is opened in a direction intersecting therotation axis Ax of the impeller 11. The drain port 12 c is opened inthe direction intersecting the rotation axis Ax of the impeller 11. Thedrain port 12 c allows the internal space of the housing 12 tocommunicate with the outside. The drain port 12 c is opened in a bottomportion of the housing 12 in a state where the cleaner 3 for vehicles isattached to the vehicle V. The water which has entered the inside of thehousing 12 passes through the drain port 12 c and falls to the outside,so that the water does not drip inside the housing 12.

The housing 12 includes a front housing 12A and a rear housing 12B whichare divided into two parts with the impeller 11 interposed therebetween.The front housing 12A includes bracket attachment portions 12 d at twopositions face each other on a side surface thereof. The multi-blade fan4 is fixed to the bracket 5 via each bracket attachment portion 12 d. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the rear housing 12B includes, in a centerthereof, an opening 12 e into which the shaft portion 11 c of the mainplate 11 a of the impeller 11 is inserted. A seal member 14 is arrangedbetween the opening 12 e of the rear housing 12B and the shaft portion11 c of the main plate 11 a of the impeller 11. The seal member 14allows the impeller 11 to rotate around the rotation axis Ax whilepreventing water or the like from entering the driving portion 20 fromthe housing 12.

When the impeller 11 is rotated, the air suctioned from the air intakeport 12 a is pressed against an inner peripheral surface of the rearhousing 12B by the blades 11 b. The pressed air is guided along theinner peripheral surface of the rear housing 12B so as to be guided tothe air outlet 12 b, and is sent from the air outlet 12 b toward an airguide tube forming portion 70 of the bracket 5. That is, the airsuctioned from the direction of the rotation axis Ax of the impeller 11is pushed out in the radial direction by the rotating blades 11 b andpressed against the inner peripheral surface of the rear housing 12B,and is thus sent out from the air outlet opened in the radial directiontoward the air guide tube forming portion 70 of the bracket 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the support portion 13 supports the housing12. The support portion 13 is connected to the motor 21 of the drivingportion 20 via the vibration-proof portion 30. The support portion 13accommodates a front portion of the motor 21 of the driving portion 20therein. In the present embodiment, the support portion 13 is integrallymolded with the housing 12. The support portion 13 extends rearward froma rear surface of the rear housing 12B along the rotation axis Ax, andhas a tubular shape whose cross section is octagonal (see FIG. 8). Thesupport portion 13 includes an engagement hole 13 a (see FIG. 5). Anengagement claw 22 c of a motor case 22 of the driving portion 20 isengaged with the engagement hole 13 a, and thus the support portion 13is connected to the motor case 22 of the driving portion 20.

The support portion 13 is integrally molded with the housing 12.However, for example, the support portion 13 may also be formedseparately from the housing 12, and may be integrated with the housing12 by being assembled to or bonded to the housing 12. The supportportion 13 has the octagonal cross section. However, for example, thecross section of the support portion 13 may also be a circle, anellipse, or a polygon other than the octagon.

The driving portion 20 is configured to drive the multi-blade fan bodyportion 10. The driving portion 20 includes the motor 21 and the motorcase 22.

The motor 21 rotates the impeller 11 around the rotation axis Ax. Themotor 21 includes a motor body portion 21 a and the rotation shaft 21 b.The motor body portion 21 a has a substantially prismatic shape. Therotation shaft 21 b extends forward from a front surface of the motorbody portion 21 a along the rotation axis Ax. The rotation shaft 21 b isinserted into the rotation shaft hole 11 d of the shaft portion 11 c ofthe main plate 11 a.

The motor case 22 accommodates and supports the motor 21. The motor case22 includes a motor accommodating portion 22 a and a support portionattachment portion 22 b.

The motor accommodating portion 22 a accommodates a rear portion of themotor 21. The support portion attachment portion 22 b extends forwardfrom a front end of the motor accommodating portion 22 a. The motor case22 is connected to the support portion 13 by engaging the engagementclaw 22 c at a tip end portion thereof with the engagement hole 13 a(see FIG. 5) of the support portion 13.

The support portion 13 includes the engagement hole 13 a, while themotor case 22 includes the engagement claw 22 c. However, the supportportion 13 may include the engagement claw, while the motor case 22 mayinclude the engagement hole.

The vibration-proof portion 30 is configured to prevent vibration of thedriving portion 20 from being transmitted to the support unit 13. Thevibration-proof portion 30 includes a plurality of elastic members 31, aplurality of elastic member attachment portions 32 (hereinafter referredto as attachment portions 32), and a cage portion 33.

Each elastic member 31 absorbs vibration of the motor 21 and preventsthe vibration of the motor 21 from being transmitted to the supportportion 13. The elastic member 31 is, for example, tubularvibration-proof rubber which includes a through hole 31 a. Eachattachment portion 32 is provided to be in contact with the motor 21.The elastic member 31 is attached to the motor 21 via the attachmentportion 32. The attachment portion 32 has, for example, a bar shapewhich can be inserted into the through hole 31 a of the elastic member31. As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the elastic member 31 is providedto be in contact with the attachment portion 32 and the support portion13. The support portion 13 is attached to the elastic member 31 so asnot to be in contact with the motor 21. As illustrated in FIG. 6, thecage portion 33 is formed to surround the motor 21 in a state where thecage portion 33 is in contact with the motor 21. In the presentembodiment, the cage portion 33 includes a front cage portion 33A and arear cage portion 33B which are divided with the motor 21 interposedtherebetween. The attachment portion 32 is integrally molded with thecage portion 33, and includes a front attachment portion 32A and a rearattachment portion 32B.

The attachment portions 32 are arranged at four positions around themotor 21 and extend in a radial direction of the motor 21. Eachattachment portion 32 is attached into the through hole 31 a of theelastic member 31 and thus the elastic member 31 is attached to theattachment portion 32. A groove 31 b, which is recessed in a directionorthogonal to an axial direction of the through hole 31 a, is formedover an entire periphery of a side surface of the elastic member 31. Apart of the support portion 13 is inserted into the groove 31 b of theelastic member 31, and thus the support portion 13 is attached to themotor 21 via the elastic member 31. The vibration of the motor 21transmitted to the elastic member 31 via the cage portion 33 and theattachment portion 32 is absorbed by the elastic member 31.

A part of the motor case 22 is inserted into the groove 31 b of theelastic member 31, and thus the motor case 22 is connected to thesupport portion 13 via the elastic member 31. The vibration of the motor21 transmitted to the elastic member 31 via the motor case 22 isabsorbed by the elastic member 31.

The attachment portion 32 is integrally molded with the cage portion 33.However, the attachment portion 32 may also be formed separately fromthe cage portion 33, and may be integrated with the cage portion 33 bybeing assembled or bonded thereto.

The attachment portions 32 and the elastic members 31 are arranged atfour positions around the motor 21. The number and arrangement of theattachment portions 32 and the elastic members 31 are not limited tosuch four-position arrangement. For example, when the attachmentportions 32 and the elastic members 31 are arranged at three positionsaround the motor 21, the motor 21 can be prevented from being rotatedabout an axial direction of the attachment portions 32 relative to thesupport portion 13.

The cage portion 33 is formed to surround an entire periphery of themotor 21. However, for example, the cage portion 33 may also be formedto surround a part of the motor 21.

The groove 31 b of the elastic member 31 is formed over the entireperiphery of the side surface of the elastic member 31. However, forexample, the groove 31 b may also be formed in a part of the sidesurface of the elastic member 31.

Shapes of the attachment portion 32 and the elastic member 31 are notlimited to those of the present embodiment. The shapes of the attachmentportion 32 and the elastic member 31 may be other shapes as long as suchshapes can absorb the vibration of the motor 21 and prevent thevibration of the motor 21 from being transmitted to the support portion13. In the case where the elastic member 31 has the tubular shape, theelastic member 31 is increased in size in the direction orthogonal tothe axial direction of the through hole 31 a rather than in the axialdirection of the through hole 31 a, so that the vibration of the motor21 can be further absorbed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the vibration of themotor 21 is prevented from being transmitted to the support portion 13by the vibration-proof portion 30. Therefore, the vibration of the motor21 can be prevented from being transmitted to the multi-blade fan bodyportion 10 of the multi-blade fan 4 via the support portion 13.Generation of vibration noise caused by the vibration of the motor 21can also be prevented.

The elastic member 31 of the vibration-proof portion 30 is attached tothe motor 21 via the attachment portion 32. The support portion 13 isattached to the elastic member 31 so as not to be in contact with themotor 21. Therefore, the vibration of the motor 21 is absorbed by theelastic member 31, and the vibration of the motor 21 can be preventedfrom being transmitted to the support portion 13. Moreover, since thesupport portion 13 is not in contact with the motor 21, the vibration ofthe motor 21 can be prevented from being transmitted to the supportportion 13.

The bar-shaped attachment portion 32 is inserted into the through hole31 a of the elastic member 31, and thus the elastic member 31 isattached to the attachment portion 32. A part of the support portion 13is inserted into the groove 31 b formed in the side surface of theelastic member 31, and thus the support portion 13 is attached to theelastic member 31. When the elastic member 31 is increased in size toimprove a vibration-proof effect thereof, the elastic member 31 can beincreased in size in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction ofthe through hole 31 a rather than in the axial direction of the throughhole 31 a. Therefore, the vibration-proof effect can be improved withoutenlarging the entire support portion 13 and/or the multi-blade fan 4.

The cage portion 33 surrounds the motor 21 in a state where the cageportion 33 is in contact with the motor 21. The cage portion 33 allowsthe attachment portion 32 to be stably attached to the motor 21. Thevibration of the motor 21 can be transmitted to the elastic member 31via the cage portion 33 and the attachment portion 32, and the vibrationcan be absorbed by the elastic member 31.

The attachment portions 32 and the elastic members 31 are preferablyarranged at least three positions around the motor 21. For example, whenthe attachment portions 32 are arranged at only two positions around themotor 21, the motor 21 may rotate about the axial direction of theattachment portions 32 relative to the support portion 13. On the otherhand, by arranging the attachment portions 32 at least at threepositions around the motor 21, the motor 21 can be prevented from beingrotated about the axial direction of the attachment portions 32 relativeto the support portion 13.

A part of the motor case 22 is attached to the elastic member 31. Sincethe vibration of the motor 21 transmitted to the elastic member 31 viathe motor case 22 is absorbed by the elastic member 31, the vibration ofthe motor 21 can be prevented from being transmitted to the supportportion 13.

Bracket 5

Next, the bracket 5 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 4A,4B, and 5.

The bracket 5 supports and fixes the back camera 2A and the rear camera2B. The bracket 5 accommodates the multi-blade fan 4, and conveys theair sent from the multi-blade fan 4 to the back camera 2A and the rearcamera 2B.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the bracket 5 includes a camera attachmentportion 50, a multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60, and the airguide tube forming portion 70. The camera attachment portion 50 includesa back camera attachment portion 50A and a rear camera attachmentportion 50B.

The camera attachment portion 50 is provided to protrude forward from afront surface of a flat plate portion of the bracket 5. The multi-bladefan accommodating portion 60 is formed to be recessed rearward from thefront surface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5. The air guidetube forming portion 70 is formed to be recessed rearward from the frontsurface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5. Portionscorresponding to the multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 and theair guide tube forming portion 70 on the front surface of the flat plateportion of the bracket 5 are opened. The multi-blade fan accommodatingportion 60, the back camera attachment portion 50A, and the rear cameraattachment portion 50B are arranged in this order as viewed from adirection orthogonal to a direction of the air sent from the air outlet12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 (hereinafter referred to as an air blowingdirection). In the present embodiment, a direction orthogonal to the airblowing direction is the front-rear direction of the bracket 5 in FIG.4B (the direction of the rotation axis Ax of the multi-blade fan 4 inFIG. 6). The air guide tube forming portion 70 extends from themulti-blade fan accommodating portion 60 along an arrangement directionof the back camera attachment portion 50A and the rear camera attachmentportion 50B.

The camera attachment portion 50 is configured to attach and fix thein-vehicle camera 2 to the bracket 5. The back camera 2A and the rearcamera 2B are respectively attached to upper surfaces of the back cameraattachment portion 50A and the rear camera attachment portion 50B byfastening members (not illustrated). The back camera attachment portion50A includes a through hole 50Aa in a center thereof, and accommodates awiring connected to the back camera 2A. The rear camera attachmentportion 50B includes a through hole 50Ba in a center thereof, andaccommodates a wiring connected to the rear camera 2B.

Although the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B are attached to theupper surfaces of the back camera attachment portion 50A and the rearcamera attachment portion 50B, a part of the back camera 2A and the rearcamera 2B may be accommodated inside the back camera attachment portion50A and the rear camera attachment portion 50B.

The multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 accommodates themulti-blade fan 4. As illustrated in FIGS. 4B and 5, the multi-blade fanaccommodating portion 60 includes a recessed portion 61 which isrecessed rearward from the front surface of the flat plate portion ofthe bracket 5. The recessed portion 61 has a shape corresponding to thehousing 12 of the multi-blade fan body portion 10 of the multi-blade fan4, and accommodates the housing 12 of the multi-blade fan body portion10 of the multi-blade fan 4. An opening 61 a is formed in a bottomsurface of the recessed portion 61. The support portion 13 of themulti-blade fan body portion 10 of the multi-blade fan 4 and the motor21 are inserted into the opening 61 a. The multi-blade fan 4 isaccommodated in the multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 in a statewhere the support portion 13 of the multi-blade fan body portion 10 andthe motor 21 protrude rearward from the bracket 5 via the opening 61 a.

The multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 includes multi-blade fanattachment portions 61 b at two positions facing each other on a sidesurface of the recessed portion 61. The bracket attachment portion 12 dof the multi-blade fan 4 is attached to each multi-blade fan attachmentportion 61 b by a fastening member. A seal member 62 is arranged aroundthe opening 61 a in the bottom surface of the recessed portion 61. Whenthe multi-blade fan 4 is attached to the bracket 5, the housing 12 ofthe multi-blade fan body portion 10 is pressed against the seal member62, and the seal member 62 is elastically deformed, so that themulti-blade fan 4 is sealed relative to the opening 61 a of the bracket5.

The multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 includes a drain passage 60c communicating with the drain port 12 c of the multi-blade fan 4. Thedrain passage 60 c is an example of a drain hole. The drain passage 60 cis a space which communicates with the drain port 12 c of themulti-blade fan 4 when the multi-blade fan 4 is accommodated in themulti-blade fan accommodating portion 60. The water discharged from thedrain port 12 c of the multi-blade fan 4 is discharged from the drainpassage 60 c of the multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60.

The multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 communicates with the airguide tube forming portion 70. A portion, which faces the air outlet 12b of the multi-blade fan 4, of the side surface of the recessed portion61 of the multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 is opened in the airblowing direction of the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 (inthe present embodiment, in a leftward direction of the bracket 5). Whenthe multi-blade fan 4 is accommodated in the multi-blade fanaccommodating portion 60, the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4communicates with the air guide tube forming portion 70, and the airsent from the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 is conveyed tothe air guide tube forming portion 70. Since the multi-blade fanaccommodating portion 60 and the air guide tube forming portion 70 arearranged behind the front surface of the flat plate portion of thebracket 5, the air is sent from the air outlet 12 b of the multi-bladefan 4 rearward and leftward relative to the front surface of the flatplate portion of the bracket 5.

The air guide tube forming portion 70 forms at least a part of the airguide tube 8 configured to convey the air sent from the air outlet 12 bof the multi-blade fan 4. In the present embodiment, a front surface ofthe air guide tube forming portion 70 is covered by the bracket cover 6.The air guide tube forming portion 70 forms the air guide tube 8together with the bracket cover 6. The air guide tube forming portion 70extends in the air blowing direction from the air outlet 12 b of themulti-blade fan 4. The air guide tube forming portion 70 includes abranch portion 71. The air conveyed in the air guide tube formingportion 70 is branched by the branch portion 71. The air guide tubeforming unit 70 first conveys the air sent from the air outlet 12 b ofthe multi-blade fan 4 in substantially the same direction as the airblowing direction, and is then branched by the branch portion 71 so asto convey the air to the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B,respectively.

Since the air guide tube forming portion 70 is arranged behind the frontsurface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5, the air guide tube 8is arranged behind the front surface of the flat plate portion of thebracket 5, and the air is conveyed by the air guide tube 8 rearward andleftward relative to the front surface of the flat plate portion of thebracket 5.

The air guide tube 8 is formed by the air guide tube forming portion 70and the bracket cover 6. However, for example, the portion of the frontsurface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5 corresponding to theair guide tube forming portion 70 may not be opened, and the air guidetube 8 may be formed only by the air guide tube forming portion 70. Adetailed structure of the air guide tube 8 will be described laterbelow.

The bracket 5 further includes vehicle body attachment portions 53. Thevehicle body attachment portions 53 are provided at both left-rightdirection end portions of the bracket 5. As illustrated in FIG. 2, eachvehicle body attachment portion 53 is attached to the outer panel of thevehicle V such that the front surface of the flat plate portion of thebracket 5 faces downward.

Bracket Cover 6

Next, the bracket cover 6 will be described mainly with reference toFIGS. 4A and 4B.

The bracket cover 6 is configured to cover a part of the front surfaceof the bracket 5. In the present embodiment, the bracket cover 6 coversthe multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 and the air guide tubeforming portion 70. The bracket cover 6 is attached to the front surfaceof the flat plate portion of the bracket 5 by a fastening unit. Thebracket cover 6 includes a first cover portion 6 a and a second coverportion 6 b. The first cover portion 6 a covers a front surface of themulti-blade fan accommodating portion 60. The first cover portion 6 aincludes a notch 6 c communicating with the drain passage 60 c of thebracket 5. The notch 6 c is an example of a bracket drain hole. Thewater discharged from the drain port 12 c of the multi-blade fan 4 isdischarged from the notch 6 c of the bracket cover 6 via the drainpassage 60 c of the bracket 5. The first cover portion 6 a includes anopening 6 d corresponding to the air intake port 12 a of the multi-bladefan 4. The multi-blade fan 4 takes in outside air from the air intakeport 12 a via the opening 6 d of the first cover portion 6 a.

The second cover portion 6 b covers the front surface of the air guidetube forming portion 70, and forms the air guide tube 8 together withthe air guide tube forming portion 70 of the bracket 5. The bracketcover 6 includes the second cover portion 6 b. However, when the airguide tube 8 is formed only by the air guide tube forming portion 70,the bracket cover 6 may include only the first cover portion 6 a.

Nozzle 9

The nozzle 9 is configured to eject a cleaning liquid and/or air to thein-vehicle camera 2. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the nozzle 9 isintegrally molded with the second cover portion 6 b of the bracket cover6. In the present embodiment, the nozzle 9 includes a back camera nozzle9A and a rear camera nozzle 9B. The air sent out from the multi-bladefan 4 is conveyed to the back camera nozzle 9A and the rear cameranozzle 9B via the air guide tube 8. The air conveyed to the back cameranozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B is ejected from tip ends of theback camera nozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B toward the backcamera 2A and the rear camera 2B. The cleaning liquid conveyed from thetank 100 via the connecting hose 103 is ejected from the tip ends of theback camera nozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B toward the backcamera 2A and the rear camera 2B.

The nozzle 9 is integrally molded with the bracket cover 6. However, forexample, the nozzle 9 may also be formed separately from the bracketcover 6, and may be integrated with the bracket cover 6 by beingassembled to or bonded to the bracket cover 6. When the air guide tube 8is formed by the air guide tube forming portion 70, the nozzle 9 may beformed integrally with the bracket 5. It should be noted that the term“integrally formed” includes being integrally molded or being separatelyformed and then integrated by assembling or bonding. A detailedstructure of the nozzle 9 will be described later below.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the bracket 5 includesthe camera attachment portion 50 and the air guide tube forming portion70. Therefore, positional misalignment of the air guide tube 8 relativeto the in-vehicle camera 2 can be prevented with a simple configuration.

The camera attachment portion 50 includes the back camera attachmentportion 50A and the rear camera attachment portion 50B. The air guidetube forming portion 70 includes the branch portion 71 which branchesthe air guide tube forming portion 70 into two parts. Therefore, the aircan be conveyed to each of the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B.

In addition, the bracket 5 includes the multi-blade fan accommodatingportion 60 which communicates with the air guide tube forming portion70. Therefore, positional misalignment of the multi-blade fan 4 relativeto the air guide tube 8 can be prevented with a simple configuration.

The multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60, the back camera attachmentportion 50A, and the rear camera attachment portion 50B are arrangedside by side in this order. The air guide tube forming portion 70extends from the multi-blade fan accommodating portion 60 along thearrangement direction of the back camera attachment portion 50A and therear camera attachment portion 50B. The air from the multi-blade fan 4is conveyed by the air guide tube forming portion 70 along thearrangement direction of the back camera attachment portion 50A and therear camera attachment portion 50B. Therefore, the air easily flowssmoothly to the rear camera attachment portion 50B which is locatedfarther from the accommodating portion of the multi-blade fan 4.Therefore, a larger amount of air can be conveyed from the multi-bladefan 4 to the rear camera 2B.

The bracket cover 6 forms a part of the air guide tube 8, and forms theair guide tube 8 together with the air guide tube forming portion 70 ofthe bracket 5. The nozzle 9 is integrally molded with the bracket cover6. Therefore, positional misalignment of the nozzle 9 relative to theair guide tube 8 can be prevented with a simple configuration.

The bracket 5 includes the drain passage 60 c which communicates withthe drain port 12 c of the multi-blade fan 4. The bracket cover 6includes the notch which communicates with the drain passage 60 c of thebracket 5. Therefore, the water entering from the intake port of themulti-blade fan 4 can be discharged to the outside.

According to the bracket 5 having the above-described structure, thein-vehicle camera 2 is arranged in front of the front surface of theflat plate portion of the bracket 5. The multi-blade fan 4 is arrangedbehind the front surface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5. Theair outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 sends the air behind the frontsurface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5 in a leftwarddirection of the bracket 5. Therefore, the in-vehicle camera 2 isarranged so as not to overlap the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan4 in the air blowing direction of the air outlet 12 b of the multi-bladefan 4. Therefore, an air flow from the multi-blade fan 4 to thein-vehicle camera 2 is improved.

According to the bracket 5 having the above-described structure, the airguide tube 8 is arranged behind the front surface of the flat plateportion of the bracket 5. The air guide tube 8 extends in the airblowing direction from the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4.Therefore, the air guide tube 8 is arranged so as not to overlap thein-vehicle camera 2 in the air blowing direction of the air outlet 12 bof the multi-blade fan 4. Therefore, the air from the multi-blade fan 4can be smoothly conveyed to the in-vehicle camera 2.

The multi-blade fan 4 and the air guide tube 8 are located rearward fromthe front surface of the flat plate portion of the bracket 5 and do notprotrude from the front surface of the flat plate portion of the bracket5. Therefore, when the bracket 5 is attached to the outer panel of thevehicle V, the multi-blade fan 4 and the air guide tube 8 do notprotrude forward from the outer panel, and thus interference with thein-vehicle camera 2 can be prevented.

Filter 7

Next, the filter 7 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 4Band 5.

The filter 7 is configured to prevent foreign matter from entering themulti-blade fan 4 from the outside and to allow air to passtherethrough. The filter 7 is detachably provided on a front side of theair intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4. The filter 7 is made of aporous material, and filters air containing foreign matter from theoutside. The filter 7 is made of, for example, urethane foam (sponge) ornonwoven fabric. In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4B,the filter 7 has a disk shape which has a thickness T, and is arrangedbetween the bracket cover 6 and the air intake port 12 a of themulti-blade fan 4. For example, in a case where the filter 7 is made ofsponge, the thickness T is formed to be larger than a distance D (FIG.5) between the bracket cover 6 and the air intake port 12 a of themulti-blade fan 4. In this case, the filter 7 is interposed in acompressed state between the bracket cover 6 and the air intake port 12a of the multi-blade fan 4, and can filter finer foreign matter.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the filter 7 is providedin the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4. Therefore, theforeign matter can be prevented from entering the multi-blade fan 4 fromthe air intake port 12 a. For example, when the multi-blade fan 4 isdriven to take in air from the air intake port 12 a, foreign matter suchas dust can be prevented from entering the multi-blade fan 4.

The multi-blade fan 4 is used as an air blowing portion. Even if themulti-blade fan 4 where a larger amount of foreign matter is more likelyto enter is used to continuously take in air, the foreign matter such asdust can be prevented from entering the multi-blade fan 4 by the filter7.

The filter 7 is detachably attached to the air intake port 12 a of themulti-blade fan 4. Therefore, when the filter 7 is deteriorated, thefilter 7 can be replaced with a new filter 7.

The cleaner 3 for vehicles is attached to the outer panel of the vehicleV, and the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4 communicateswith the outside of the vehicle. The multi-blade fan 4 takes in airoutside the vehicle from the air intake port 12 a, and thus there is ahigh possibility that more foreign matter will enter the multi-blade fan4. However, the filter 7 can prevent the foreign matter outside thevehicle from entering the multi-blade fan 4.

Air Guide Tube 8

Next, the air guide tube 8 will be described mainly with reference toFIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit 1 forvehicles taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 3.

The air guide tube 8 is configured to convey the air from themulti-blade fan 4 to the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B. In thepresent embodiment, the air guide tube 8 is formed by the air guide tubeforming portion 70 of the bracket 5 and the second cover portion 6 b ofthe bracket cover 6. The air guide tube 8 communicates with the airoutlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 accommodated in the multi-blade fanaccommodating portion 60. The air guide tube 8 extends in an air blowingdirection A from the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4. The airguide tube 8 includes a first opening 8 a, a second opening 8 b, and anair introduction port 8 c. The first opening 8 a is an opening throughwhich the air is sent to the back camera nozzle 9A. The second opening 8b is an opening through which the air is sent to the rear camera nozzle9B. The first opening 8 a and the second opening 8 b are formed atpositions which do not overlap the air outlet 12 b of the multi-bladefan 4 in the air blowing direction A. The first opening 8 a and thesecond opening 8 b are opened in a direction intersecting the airblowing direction A. The first opening 8 a and the second opening 8 bare formed by covering a portion of the air guide tube forming portion70 of the bracket 5 excluding a portion corresponding to the nozzle 9with the bracket cover 6. The air introduction port 8 c communicateswith the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 and is opened in theair blowing direction A. The air from the air outlet 12 b from themulti-blade fan 4 is introduced into the air guide tube 8 through theair introduction port 8 c.

The air guide tube 8 includes a main conveyance path 80, a first branchpath 81, and a second branch path 82. The first branch path 81 and thesecond branch path 82 are formed by being branched from the mainconveyance path 80 by the branch portion 71. The main conveyance path 80conveys the air introduced from the air introduction port 8 c insubstantially the same direction as the air blowing direction A(hereinafter, referred to as an air conveyance direction B). The firstbranch path 81 conveys a part of the air conveyed in the main conveyancepath 80 and branched by the branch portion 71 to the back camera nozzle9A. The second branch path 82 conveys a part of the air conveyed in themain conveyance path 80 and branched by the branch portion 71 to therear camera nozzle 9B.

The first branch path 81 extends from the main conveyance path 80 at afirst angle θ1 relative to the air conveyance direction B of the mainconveyance path 80, while the second branch path 82 extends from themain conveyance path 80 at a second angle θ2 relative to the airconveyance direction B of the main conveyance path 80. By making thefirst angle θ1 and the second angle θ2 different from each other,different amounts of air can be conveyed to a plurality of cleaningobjects. For example, by setting the second angle θ2 to be smaller thanthe first angle θ1, the second branch path 82 can convey more air thanthe first branch path 81.

The branch portion 71 of the air guide tube 8 includes a partition plate71 a and a guide plate 71 b. The partition plate 71 a constitutes a partof the first branch path 81. The guide plate 71 b constitutes a part ofthe second branch path 82. The partition plate 71 a is arranged midwayin an air conveyance path of the main conveyance path 80 along adirection intersecting the air conveyance direction B (that is, the airblowing direction A) of the main conveyance path 80. The partition plate71 a is arranged so as to overlap a part of the air outlet 12 b of themulti-blade fan 4 in the air blowing direction A. The partition plate 71a extends toward the first opening 8 a. A part of the air conveyed inthe main conveyance path 80 collides with the partition plate 71 a, andthe direction in which the air is conveyed is changed toward the firstopening 8 a. The guide plate 71 b is connected to an end portion, whichis opposite to an end portion connected to the first opening 8 a, of thepartition plate 71 a, and extends toward the second opening 8 b. In thepresent embodiment, the partition plate 71 a extends from a left edge ofthe first opening 8 a (an edge closer to the second branch path 82)toward the main conveyance path 80 in a direction orthogonal to the airblowing direction A. The guide plate 71 b extends in a directionintersecting the air blowing direction A from a portion connected to thepartition plate 71 a toward a right edge of the second opening 8 b (anedge closer to the first branch path 81).

The air guide tube 8 includes a first inner surface 83 and a secondinner surface 84. The first inner surface 83 is an inner surface whichconnects the air introduction port 8 c and the first opening 8 a. Thefirst inner surface 83 extends from the air introduction port 8 c towardthe first opening 8 a in the direction intersecting the air blowingdirection A. The second inner surface 84 is an inner surface whichconnects the air introduction port 8 c and the second opening 8 b. Thesecond inner surface 84 includes a first portion 84 a and a secondportion 84 b. The first portion 84 a extends from the air introductionport 8 c in the air blowing direction A. The second portion 84 b extendsfrom the first portion 84 a toward the second opening 8 b in thedirection intersecting the air blowing direction A. The second portion84 b extends in the same direction as the guide plate 71 b. The firstinner surface 83 and the first portion 84 a of the second inner surface84 constitute a part of the main conveyance path 80. The second portion84 b of the second inner surface 84 constitutes a part of the secondbranch path 82. In the present embodiment, the first inner surface 83 isformed by a part of a rear surface of the bracket cover 6. The secondinner surface 84 is formed by an inner surface of the air guide tubeforming portion 70 of the bracket 5. The first inner surface 83 may beformed by the bracket 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the air guide tube 8 conveys the air, which issent from the air outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 via the airintroduction port 8 c in the air blowing direction A, in the airconveyance direction B of the bracket 5 through the main conveyance path80. After the air is branched at the branch portion 71, the air guidetube 8 conveys the branched air through the first branch path 81 and thesecond branch path 82, respectively, and sends out the air through thefirst opening 8 a and the second opening 8 b.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the air guide tube 8includes the partition plate 71 a which is arranged midway in the airblowing direction A along the direction intersecting the air blowingdirection A. For example, the partition plate 71 a extends along thedirection orthogonal to the air blowing direction A. Since the directionof a part of the air is changed by using the partition plate 71 a, theair can be conveyed to a plurality of cleaning objects (the back camera2A and the rear camera 2B) by one single air guide tube 8. As a result,the air can be conveyed to the plurality of cleaning objects with asimple structure.

The partition plate 71 a overlaps a part of the air outlet 12 b of themulti-blade fan 4 in the air blowing direction A. Therefore, thedirection of the part of the air conveyed in the air blowing direction Acan be more effectively changed by the partition plate 71 a.

The partition plate 71 a extends toward the first opening 8 acorresponding to the back camera 2A. Therefore, the part of the air canbe guided toward the first opening 8 a corresponding to the back camera2A while the direction thereof is changed through using the partitionplate 71 a.

The first opening 8 a is formed at a position which does not overlap theair outlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4 in the air blowing direction A.The air guide tube 8 includes the first inner surface 83 which connectsthe air outlet 12 b (air introduction port 8 c) of the multi-blade fan 4and the first opening 8 a. Therefore, the air can be guided by the firstinner surface 83 toward the first opening 8 a corresponding to the backcamera 2A.

The air guide tube 8 includes the second inner surface 84 which connectsthe air outlet 12 b (air introduction port 8 c) of the multi-blade fan 4and the second opening 8 b. The second inner surface 84 includes thefirst portion 84 a extending in the air blowing direction A from the airoutlet 12 b of the multi-blade fan 4, and the second portion 84 bextending from the first portion 84 a toward the second opening 8 b.Therefore, the air can be conveyed in the air blowing direction A by thefirst portion 84 a of the second inner surface 84, while the air can beguided by the second portion 84 b toward the second opening 8 bcorresponding to the rear camera 2B.

The air guide tube 8 includes the guide plate 71 b extending from theend portion, which is opposite to the end portion connected to the firstopening 8 a, of the partition plate 71 a toward the second opening 8 b.Therefore, the air can be guided by the guide plate 71 b toward thesecond opening 8 b relative to the rear camera 2B.

The air guide tube 8 conveys different amounts of air to the back camera2A and the rear camera 2B, respectively. Therefore, cleaning can beperformed with an amount of air corresponding to a function and/or ashape of each cleaning object. As a result, the cleaner unit 1 forvehicles which efficiently cleans a plurality of cleaning objects havingdifferent functions and/or shapes can be provided.

The air guide tube 8 includes the main conveyance path 80, the firstbranch path 81, and the second branch path 82. The first branch path 81and the second branch path 82 are formed to convey different amounts ofair to the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B, respectively.Therefore, the first branch path 81 and the second branch path 82 canconvey an amount of air corresponding to the function and/or the shapeof each cleaning object.

The first branch path 81 extends from the main conveyance path 80 at thefirst angle θ1 relative to the air conveyance direction of the mainconveyance path 80. The second branch path 82 extends from the mainconveyance path 80 at the second angle θ2 relative to the air conveyancedirection B of the main conveyance path 80. The second angle θ2 issmaller than the first angle θ1. Therefore, since more air flows fromthe main conveyance path 80 into the second branch path 82 than thefirst branch path 81, the second branch path 82 can convey a largeramount of air than the first branch path 81.

The multi-blade fan 4, the back camera 2A, and the rear camera 2B arearranged in this order as viewed from the direction orthogonal to theair blowing direction A. Therefore, the rear camera 2B is arrangedfarther from the multi-blade fan 4 than the back camera 2A. With such astructure, a larger amount of air flows from the main conveyance path 80into the second branch path 82 than the first branch path 81, so thatthe second branch path 82 can convey a larger amount of air than thefirst branch path 81.

The first branch path 81 is formed to convey air to the back camera 2A.The second branch path 82 is formed to convey air to the rear camera 2B.Therefore, cleaning can be performed with an amount of air correspondingto the functions of the back camera 2A and the rear camera 2B. The backcamera 2A acquires an image of the vicinity of the host vehicle V duringbackward movement. The rear camera 2B always acquires an image of a rearside of the vehicle V. For example, by conveying a larger amount of airto the rear camera 2B than the back camera 2A, the rear camera 2B canalways acquire a favorable image while adhesion of foreign matter isprevented.

Structure of Nozzle 9

Next, the structure of the nozzle 9 will be described with reference toFIGS. 10 to 15B. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the cleanerunit 1 for vehicles to which the connecting hose 103 is connected. FIG.11 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles takenalong line XI-XI of FIG. 3. FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view of thecleaner unit 1 for vehicles taken along line XIIA-XIIA of FIG. 2. FIG.12B is a cross-sectional view of the cleaner unit 1 for vehicles takenalong line XIIB-XIIB of FIG. 2. FIG. 13A illustrates an ejection port ofthe back camera nozzle, and is a view of the ejection port of the backcamera nozzle as viewed from below. FIG. 13B illustrates an ejectionport of the rear camera nozzle, and is a view of the ejection port ofthe rear camera nozzle as viewed from below. FIG. 14A illustrates therear camera and the rear camera nozzle as viewed from a front side ofthe rear camera 2B. FIG. 14B illustrates the rear camera and the rearcamera nozzle when the rear camera 2B is viewed obliquely. FIG. 15Aillustrates a rear camera nozzle of Modification 1. FIG. 15B illustratesa rear camera nozzle of Modification 2. Common members of the backcamera nozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B are denoted by the samereference numerals. “A” is added to ends of the reference numerals ofthe members of the back camera nozzle 9A, while “B” is added to ends ofthe reference numerals of the members of the rear camera nozzle 9B.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the nozzle 9 communicates with the air guidetube 8. The nozzle 9 conveys the air from the air guide tube 8, andejects the air from a tip end thereof toward the in-vehicle camera 2which serves as the cleaning object. The nozzle 9 includes a cleaningliquid introduction path 90 which is connected to the connecting hose103. The nozzle 9 ejects the cleaning liquid conveyed via the connectinghose 103 and the cleaning liquid introduction path 90 from the tip endtoward the in-vehicle camera 2 which serves as the cleaning object. Theconnecting hose 103 is routed from a back side of the bracket 5 to afront side of the bracket 5 via a through hole (not illustrated). In thepresent embodiment, the nozzle 9 includes the back camera nozzle 9Aconfigured to eject toward the back camera 2A and the rear camera nozzle9B configured to eject toward the rear camera 2B. In the followingdescription, a configuration common to the back camera nozzle 9A and therear camera nozzle 9B will be described as a configuration of the nozzle9, and description of a configuration of each of the back camera nozzle9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B will be omitted.

Linear Portion 91 of Nozzle 9

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the nozzle 9 extends from the air guide tube8 in a direction intersecting the air conveyance direction B(hereinafter, also referred to as a nozzle extension direction C). Inthe present embodiment, the nozzle extension direction C is orthogonalto the air conveyance direction B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12B, the nozzle 9 includes a linearportion 91 and a tip end portion 92. The linear portion 91 communicateswith the air guide tube 8, and linearly extends from the air guide tube8 in the direction intersecting with the air conveyance direction B(nozzle extension direction C). For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 12Aand 12B, the linear portion 91 extends from the air guide tube 8 towarda lens 2 a of the in-vehicle camera 2. Since the back camera 2A and therear camera 2B are attached to the air guide tube 8 at differentpositions and in different directions, the back camera nozzle 9A and therear camera nozzle 9B extend in different directions. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 12A, a linear portion 91A of the back camera nozzle9A extends in substantially the same direction as a longitudinaldirection of a housing of the back camera 2A. Meanwhile, as illustratedin FIG. 12B, a linear portion 91B of the rear camera nozzle 9B extendsslightly obliquely relative to a longitudinal direction of a housing ofthe rear camera 2B. The linear portion 91B extends to approach thehousing of the rear camera 2B as approaching a lens 2Ba of the rearcamera 2B.

The tip end portion 92 ejects a cleaning liquid or air from a tip endthereof which is opened toward the in-vehicle camera 2. The tip endportion 92 extends from a tip end of the linear portion 91 in adirection toward the lens 2 a of the in-vehicle camera 2. A widthdirection E (see FIG. 14A) of the tip end portion 92 is orthogonal tothe nozzle extension direction C.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the nozzle extension direction C of thenozzle is the same as an arrangement direction of the partition plate 71a of the air guide tube 8. The linear portion 91 conveys the air sentout from the air guide tube 8 while guiding the air in such a mannerthat the air whose direction is changed due to collision with thepartition plate 71 a is conveyed in the arrangement direction of thepartition plate 71 a. In the present embodiment, the linear portion 91conveys the air sent out from the air guide tube 8 while guiding the airin a direction orthogonal to the air conveyance direction B (nozzleextension direction C).

In this way, in the present embodiment, the linear portion 91 of thenozzle 9 extends in the direction which intersects the air conveyancedirection B and is orthogonal to the width direction E of the tipportion 92 of the nozzle 9 (nozzle extension direction C). The linearportion 91 guides the air from the air guide tube 8 in the nozzleextension direction C. Therefore, the direction of the air can bechanged from the air conveyance direction B to the nozzle extensiondirection C by the linear portion 91 of the nozzle 9. For example, evenwhen a surface to be cleaned of the cleaning object (for example, thelens 2 a of the in-vehicle camera 2) is located at a position which doesnot overlap with the multi-blade fan 4 in the air blowing direction A,the direction of the air can be changed toward the surface to be cleanedof the cleaning object by the nozzle 9 and conveyed thereto. Therefore,the air can be ejected from the nozzle 9 in a desired direction.

In the present embodiment, the nozzle extension direction C isorthogonal to the air conveyance direction B. Therefore, for example,even when the cleaning object whose surface to be cleaned is located ata tip end thereof extends in the direction orthogonal to the airconveyance direction B, the direction of the air can be changed by thenozzle 9 toward the direction in which the cleaning object extends andconveyed thereto.

A structure of the nozzle 9 which includes the linear portion 91 is alsoapplicable to a nozzle which only ejects air. Even in the case of thenozzle which only ejects air, the same effect as described above can beobtained.

Gas and Liquid Structure of Nozzle 9

As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the nozzle 9 includes a divisionportion 96 at least at the tip end portion 92 at a substantially centralposition in a width direction of the nozzle 9. The back camera nozzle 9Aincludes a division portion 96A at a substantially central position in awidth direction of the back camera nozzle 9A from the middle ofconveyance of the linear portion 91A to a tip end portion 92A. The rearcamera nozzle 9B includes a division portion 96B at a substantiallycentral position in a width direction of the rear camera nozzle 9B at atip end portion 92B. Air conveyance paths 97, 97 are formed on bothsides of the division portion 96, and a cleaning liquid conveyance path98 is formed inside the division portion 96.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 13B, the air conveyance paths 97, 97communicate with air ejection ports 95, 95, respectively, while thecleaning liquid conveyance path 98 communicates with a cleaning liquidejection port 94 via a cleaning liquid ejection path 99. The cleaningliquid ejection port 94 and the air ejection ports 95, 95 are formed atthe tip end of the tip end portion 92 of the nozzle 9. The cleaningliquid ejection port 94 and the air ejection ports 95, 95 are formed asindependent ejection ports due to the division portion 96.

The air conveyed in the nozzle 9 is branched by the division portion 96and conveyed to the air conveyance paths 97, 97. The air conveyed in theair conveyance paths 97, 97 is ejected from the air ejection ports 95,95.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the cleaning liquid conveyance path98 communicates with the cleaning liquid introduction path 90. A tip endopening 98 a of the cleaning liquid conveyance path 98 is formed to benarrowed so as to have a small diameter. The tip end opening 98 a of thecleaning liquid conveyance path 98 and the cleaning liquid ejection port94 communicate with each other through the cleaning liquid ejection path99. The cleaning liquid ejection path 99 is formed to become widertoward the cleaning liquid ejection port 94. The cleaning liquidintroduced from the cleaning liquid introduction path 90 is conveyed bythe cleaning liquid conveyance path 98, pressurized at the tip endopening 98 a of the cleaning liquid conveyance path 98, and then ejectedfrom the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 via the cleaning liquidejection path 99.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the air ejection ports 95, 95 arearranged on both sides of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 in thewidth direction E of the tip end portion 92 of the nozzle 9. Thecleaning liquid is ejected from a center of the tip end of the nozzle 9through the cleaning liquid ejection port 94, and the air is ejectedfrom both end portions of the tip end of the nozzle 9 through the airejection ports 95, 95.

Shapes of the air ejection ports 95, 95 and a shape of the cleaningliquid ejection port 94 are different from each other. For example, asillustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B, as for the air ejection ports 95, 95,a width thereof in a direction perpendicular to the width direction E ofthe tip end portion 92 is referred to as W1, while a width thereof in adirection parallel to the width direction E of the tip end portion 92 isreferred to as W3. As for the cleaning liquid ejection port 94, a widththereof in the direction perpendicular to the width direction E of thetip end portion 92 is referred to as W2, while a width thereof in thedirection parallel to the width direction E of the tip end portion 92 isreferred to as W4. In the present embodiment, the width W1 of the airejection ports 95, 95 is wider than the width W2 of the cleaning liquidejection port 94. The width W3 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 is widerthan the width W4 of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94. An area of asurface which is orthogonal to an air ejection direction of the airejection ports 95, 95 is larger than an area of a surface perpendicularto a cleaning liquid ejection direction of the cleaning liquid ejectionport 94.

The width W1 and the width W3 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 are setto be wider than the width W2 and the width W4 of the cleaning liquidejection port 94. However, a configuration in which one of the width W1and the width W3 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 is set to be widerthan the corresponding width W2 and the width W4 of the cleaning liquidejection port 94 may also be adopted.

Since the width W1 and the width W3 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 areset to be wider than the width W2 and the width W4 of the cleaningliquid ejection port 94, an area of each of the air ejection ports 95,95 is larger than an area of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94.However, for example, the air ejection ports 95, 95 and the cleaningliquid ejection port 94 may also be formed such that the area of each ofthe air ejection ports 95, 95 is larger than the area of the cleaningliquid ejection port 94 regardless of the width W1 and the width W3 ofthe air ejection ports 95, 95 and the width W2 and the width W4 of thecleaning liquid ejection port 94.

In this way, in the present embodiment, the air ejection ports 95, 95are arranged on both sides of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94.Therefore, water droplets and foreign matters adhering to the tip end ofthe nozzle 9 can be removed by the air ejected from the air ejectionports 95, 95. For example, the water droplets and foreign matteradhering to the tip end of the nozzle 9 and water droplets and foreignmatter adhering to the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 can be removedby the air ejected from the air ejection ports 95, 95. The waterdroplets are, for example, a remainder of the cleaning liquid or waterdroplets of rain water. Since the air ejection ports 95, 95 and thecleaning liquid ejection port 94 are formed in one single nozzle 9,appearance of the cleaner 3 for vehicles is improved as compared with acase where a plurality of independent nozzles are provided for gas andliquid.

The width W1 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 is wider than the width W2of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94. Therefore, the air ejectionports 95, 95 can eject air without interfering with a flow of the air.Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 can eject the cleaningliquid while widely diffusing the cleaning liquid.

The width W3 of the air ejection ports 95, 95 is wider than the width W4of the cleaning liquid ejection port 94. Therefore, the air ejectionports 95, 95 can eject air without interfering with the flow of the air.Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 can eject the cleaningliquid while widely diffusing the cleaning liquid.

The area of the surface which is orthogonal to the air ejectiondirection of the air ejection ports 95, 95 is larger than the area ofthe surface perpendicular to the cleaning liquid ejection direction ofthe cleaning liquid ejection port 94. Therefore, the air ejection ports95, 95 can eject air without interfering with the flow of the air.Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid ejection port 94 can eject the cleaningliquid while widely diffusing the cleaning liquid.

Tip End Shape of Nozzle 9

The tip end of the nozzle 9 is formed such that at least one widthdirection end portion thereof extends to an ejection directiondownstream side relative to a central portion. In the presentembodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the tip end of thenozzle 9 is formed such that both end portions 9 e, 9 e in the widthdirection E of the tip end portion 92 extend to a downstream side in anejection direction G relative to a central portion 9 c. The tip end ofthe nozzle 9 extends to the downstream side in the ejection direction Gwhile being curved from the central portion 9 c to each end portion 9 e.

The tip end of the nozzle 9 is not limited to such a curved shape. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 15A, the tip end may extend linearlyfrom the central portion 9 c to the end portions 9 e, 9 e toward thedownstream side in the ejection direction G. The both end portions 9 e,9 e of the tip end of the nozzle 9 in the width direction E extend tothe downstream side in the ejection direction G relative to the centralportion 9 c. However, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 15B, aconfiguration in which the tip end extends to the downstream side whilebeing inclined relative to the ejection direction G from one of the endportion 9 e to the other end portion 9 e may also be adopted.

As illustrated in FIG. 14B, the both end portions 9 e, 9 e of the nozzle9 includes contact portions 9 a, 9 a which are in contact with thein-vehicle camera 2, respectively. In the present embodiment, thecontact portions 9 a, 9 a are in contact with the in-vehicle camera 2not only at the tip end of the nozzle 9 but also across the tip endportion 92. Although the contact portions 9 a, 9 a are in contact withthe in-vehicle camera 2 not only at the tip end of the nozzle 9 but alsoacross the tip end portion 92, a configuration in which the contactportions 9 a, 9 a is at least in contact with the tip end portion of thenozzle 9 may also be adopted.

A width W5 of the tip end of the nozzle 9 is set to be larger than awidth W6 of the surface to be cleaned (for example, the lens 2 a) of thein-vehicle camera 2.

In FIGS. 14A and 15B, the structures of the rear camera 2B and the rearcamera nozzle 9B are illustrated as the in-vehicle camera 2 and thenozzle 9, while the back camera 2A and the back camera nozzle 9A alsohave the same structures. In a case where the cleaner 3 for vehiclesincludes a plurality of the nozzles 9, tip ends of the plurality ofnozzles 9 may have shapes different from each other. That is, the tipends of the back camera nozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B may haveshapes different from each other. For example, although the tip ends ofthe back camera nozzle 9A and the rear camera nozzle 9B have shapesillustrated in FIG. 14A, there may be a difference in an ejectiondirection length and/or a width direction length between the centralportion and the end portion, or there may be a difference in a degree ofcurve from the central portion to the end portion. The tip end of theback camera nozzle 9A may have the shape illustrated in FIG. 14A whilethe tip end of the rear camera nozzle 9B may have a shape different fromthe shape illustrated in FIG. 14A, for example, a shape illustrated inFIG. 15A.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the one end 9 e of thetip end of the nozzle 9 in the width direction E extends to thedownstream side in the ejection direction G relative to the centralportion 9 c. Therefore, since water droplets adhering to the centralportion 9 c of the tip end of the nozzle 9 flow to the end portion, thewater droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzle 9 can be preventedfrom being detected by the in-vehicle camera 2 (an example of adetection surface of an in-vehicle sensor).

The both end portions 9 e, 9 e of the tip end of the nozzle 9 in thewidth direction E extend to the downstream side in the ejectiondirection relative to the central portion 9 c. Therefore, since thewater droplets adhering to the central portion 9 c of the tip end of thenozzle 9 flow to the both end portions 9 e, 9 e, the water dropletsadhering to the tip end of the nozzle 9 can be prevented from beingreflected on the in-vehicle camera 2.

The end portion of the tip end of the nozzle 9 includes the contactportion 9 a which is in contact with the in-vehicle camera 2. Therefore,since the water droplets adhering to the central portion of the tip endof the nozzle 9 flow to the in-vehicle camera 2 via the contact portion9 a of the end portion, the water droplets can be prevented from fallingfrom the end portion of the tip end of the nozzle 9.

The tip end of the nozzle 9 extends to the downstream side in theejection direction while being curved from the central portion 9 c toeach end portion 9 e. Therefore, since the water droplets adhering tothe central portion 9 c of the tip end of the nozzle 9 smoothly flow tothe end portion 9 e, the water droplets adhering to the tip end of thenozzle 9 can be prevented from being detected by the in-vehicle camera2.

The cleaner 3 for vehicles includes the plurality of nozzles 9, and thetip ends of the plurality of nozzles 9 have shapes different from eachother. Therefore, the nozzles 9 having the different tip end shapes canbe used in accordance with shapes and directions of each surface to becleaned of a plurality of the in-vehicle cameras 2. For example, thereis a difference in the ejection direction length between the centralportion and the end portion of the tip end of the nozzle 9, a differencein the width direction length between the central portion and the endportion, or a difference in the degree of curve from the central portionto the end portion. Therefore, the water droplets adhering to thecentral portion of the tip end of the nozzle 9 can be efficiently causedto flow to the end portion in accordance with the shape and thedirection of each surface to be cleaned of the plurality of in-vehiclecameras 2.

The nozzle 9 ejects the cleaning liquid and the air toward the lens 2 aof the in-vehicle camera 2. Therefore, the cleaning liquid remaining atthe tip end of the nozzle 9 after ejecting the cleaning liquid can beprevented from being detected by the in-vehicle camera 2.

The width of the tip end of the nozzle 9 is larger than the width of thesurface to be cleaned (for example, the lens 2 a) of the in-vehiclecamera 2. Therefore, since the water droplets adhering to the centralportion 9 c of the tip end of the nozzle 9 flow to the end portion 9 e,the water droplets adhering to the tip end of the nozzle 9 can be morereliably prevented from being detected by the in-vehicle camera 2.

Such a tip end shape of the nozzle 9 can also be applied to a nozzlewhich only ejects air or a nozzle which only ejects cleaning liquid.Even in the case of the nozzle which only ejects air or the nozzle whichonly ejects cleaning liquid, the same effects as those described abovecan still be obtained.

Second Embodiment

Next, a cleaner 203 for vehicles according to a second embodiment willbe described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 16 is a front viewillustrating a cleaner unit 201 for vehicles according to the secondembodiment. In description of the second embodiment, members having thesame reference numerals as those of the members already described in thedescription of the first embodiment will not be described forconvenience of description.

The cleaner unit 201 for vehicles of the second embodiment includes aheating wire 204 provided around the air intake port 12 a of themulti-blade fan 4, which is different from the first embodiment. Aconfiguration other than the heat wire 204 of the cleaner unit 201 forvehicles is the same as that of the first embodiment, and descriptionthereof is omitted for convenience of description.

The heating wire 204 is an example of a heating unit. The heating wire204 is provided on a front surface of the bracket cover 6 so as tosurround a periphery of the opening 6 d of the bracket cover 6. Theheating wire 204 extends upward from the periphery of the opening 6 d ofthe bracket cover 6, and is routed to the back side of the bracket 5 andconnected to a predetermined heat source (not illustrated) in thevehicle. The heating wire 204 warms the periphery of the air intake port12 a of the multi-blade fan 4 by heat transferred from the heat source.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the periphery of the airintake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4 is warmed by the heating wire204 provided around the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4.Therefore, snow can be prevented from adhering to the air intake port 12a of the multi-blade fan 4 or the periphery thereof when it snows orwhen snow accumulated on a road surface is rolled up. Water dropletsadhering to the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4 or theperiphery thereof can also be prevented from freezing.

In the above embodiment, the heating wire 204 is arranged on the frontsurface of the bracket cover 6. However, for example, the heating wire204 may also be arranged on the rear surface of the bracket cover 6. Theheat wire 204 may also be arranged on a member other than the bracketcover 6.

Instead of the heating wire 204, another method may be used to warm theperiphery of the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4. Forexample, air may be branched from the air guide tube 8, and the branchedair may be blown to the opening 6 d of the bracket cover 6 and theperiphery thereof, or to the air intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan4 and the periphery thereof In these cases, the adhesion of snow to theair intake port 12 a of the multi-blade fan 4 or the periphery thereofand the freezing of adhering water droplets can still be prevented.

Third Embodiment

Next, a cleaner unit 301 for vehicles according to a third embodimentwill be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 17 illustrates anin-vehicle camera 302 and a nozzle 309 of the cleaner unit 301 forvehicles according to the third embodiment. FIG. 18 illustrates anejection port of the nozzle 309 illustrated in FIG. 17. In descriptionof the third embodiment, members having the same reference numerals asthose of the members already described in the description of the firstembodiment will not be described for convenience of description.

According to the cleaner unit 301 for vehicles of the third embodiment,a surface to be cleaned of a rear camera 302B and a surface to becleaned of a back camera 302A have different sizes, while a back cameranozzle 309A and a rear camera nozzle 309B have different shapes, whichis different from the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, thesurfaces to be cleaned include lenses 302Aa and 302Ba, and the lens302Ba is formed to be smaller than the lens 302Aa. In the cleaner unit301 for vehicles, configurations other than the back camera 302A, therear camera 302B, the back camera nozzle 309A, and the rear cameranozzle 309B are the same as those of the first embodiment, anddescription thereof is omitted for convenience of description.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the back camera 302A includes the circularlens 302Aa. The rear camera 302B includes the circular lens 302Ba. Thelens 302Ba of the rear camera 302B has a diameter smaller than adiameter of the lens 302Aa of the back camera 302A. That is, a width ofthe lens 302Ba of the rear camera 302B is formed to be smaller than awidth of the lens 302Aa of the back camera 302A. The widths of the lens302Ba and the lens 302Aa refer to widths in a direction orthogonal to anejection direction of the cleaning liquid and the air (hereinafter,simply referred to as an ejection direction), and correspond to a lensdiameter in the present embodiment.

The rear camera nozzle 309B is formed to have a shape corresponding to ashape of the lens 302Ba, which is smaller than that of the back cameranozzle 309A. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 17, a width W7 of therear camera nozzle 309B in the direction orthogonal to the ejectiondirection is smaller than a width W8 of the lens 302Aa of the backcamera 302A in the direction orthogonal to the ejection direction.

A cleaning liquid ejection port 394B of the rear camera nozzle 309B isformed such that a cleaning liquid ejection angle thereof is smallerthan a cleaning liquid ejection angle of a cleaning liquid ejection port394A of the back camera nozzle 309A. For example, as illustrated in FIG.17, an angle θ3 is formed to be smaller than an angle θ4. The angle θ3is a spreading angle from a tip end opening 398Ba of a cleaning liquidconveyance path of a cleaning liquid ejection path 399B of the rearcamera nozzle 309B to the cleaning liquid ejection port 394B. The angleθ4 is a spreading angle from a tip end opening 398Aa of a cleaningliquid conveyance path of a cleaning liquid ejection path 399A of theback camera nozzle 309A to the cleaning liquid ejection port 394A. Asillustrated in FIG. 18, a width W9 of the cleaning liquid ejection port394B of the rear camera nozzle 309B may be formed to be smaller than awidth W10 of the cleaning liquid ejection port 394A of the back cameranozzle 309A.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, the cleaning liquid ejection port 394B of therear camera nozzle 309B is formed such that an area of a surfaceorthogonal to the cleaning liquid ejection direction thereof is smallerthan an area of a surface orthogonal to the cleaning liquid ejectiondirection of the cleaning liquid ejection port 394A of the back cameranozzle 309A.

Air ejection ports 395B, 395B of the rear camera nozzle 309B are formedsuch that an area of a surface orthogonal to a cleaning liquid ejectiondirection thereof is smaller than an area of a surface orthogonal to anair ejection direction of air ejection ports 395A, 395A of the backcamera nozzle 309A.

As described in the first embodiment, the back camera 302A and the rearcamera 302B are attached to the bracket 5 so as to face differentdirections. That is, a distance between the air guide tube 8 and thelens 302Ba of the rear camera 302B is shorter than a distance betweenthe air guide tube 8 and the lens 302Aa of the back camera 302A.Corresponding to such a structure, an ejection direction length of therear camera nozzle 309B is formed to be smaller than an ejectiondirection length of the back camera nozzle 309A.

A surface to be cleaned is a lens 302 a of the in-vehicle camera 302.However, for example, the surface to be cleaned may also be a regionincluding the lens 302 a of the in-vehicle camera 302 and a peripherythereof.

As an example in which a shape of the rear camera nozzle 309B is smallerthan a shape of the back camera nozzle 309A, a width and a length of therear camera nozzle 309B are smaller than a width and a length of theback camera nozzle 309A. The cleaning liquid ejection angle of thecleaning liquid spray port 394B of the rear camera nozzle 309B issmaller than the cleaning liquid ejection angle of the back cameranozzle 309A. Areas of the cleaning liquid ejection port 394B and the airejection ports 395B, 395B of the rear camera nozzle 309B are smallerthan areas of the cleaning liquid ejection port 394A and the airejection ports 395A, 395A of the back camera nozzle 309A. However, aconfiguration in which at least one of such areas is smaller than thatof the back camera nozzle 309A may also be adopted.

For example, the area of any one of the cleaning liquid ejection port394B and the air ejection ports 395B, 395B of the rear camera nozzle309B may be smaller than the area of the cleaning liquid ejection port394A or the air ejection ports 395A, 395A of the corresponding backcamera nozzle 309A.

As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the back cameranozzle 309A and the rear camera nozzle 309B have different shapes inaccordance with sizes of the back camera 302A and the rear camera 302Bwhose surfaces to be cleaned (for example, the lenses 302Aa and 302Ba)have different sizes. Therefore, the back camera 302A and the rearcamera 302B whose surfaces to be cleaned have different sizes can beefficiently cleaned.

For example, the back camera nozzle 309A and the rear camera nozzle 309Bhave different widths in the direction orthogonal to the ejectiondirection. Therefore, the back camera 302A and the rear camera 302Bwhose surfaces to be cleaned have different widths can be efficientlycleaned.

The back camera nozzle 309A and the rear camera nozzle 309B havedifferent lengths in the ejection direction. Therefore, the back camera302A and the rear camera 302B whose surfaces to be cleaned havedifferent positions and angles can be efficiently cleaned.

The back camera nozzle 309A and the rear camera nozzle 309B havedifferent cleaning liquid ejection angles. Therefore, the back camera302A and the rear camera 302B whose surfaces to be cleaned havedifferent sizes can be efficiently cleaned with different cleaningliquid ejection angles.

The back camera nozzle 309A and the rear camera nozzle 309B aredifferent from each other in the area of the surface orthogonal to theejection direction of the cleaning liquid ejection port 394 and/or theair ejection ports 395, 395. Therefore, the back camera 302A and therear camera 302B whose surfaces to be cleaned have different sizes canbe efficiently cleaned with different cleaning liquid ejection anglesand/or different air ejection amounts.

The plurality of cleaning objects refer to the back camera 302A and therear camera 302B. The cleaner unit 301 for vehicles can efficientlyclean the back camera 302A and the rear camera 302B. For example, thecleaning surface of the rear camera 302B is smaller than that of theback camera 302A. Therefore, the back camera 302A and the rear camera302B can be efficiently cleaned by making a size (a width and/or alength, an ejection port shape, and the like) of the rear camera nozzle309B smaller than a size of the back camera nozzle 309A.

Such a shape of the nozzle 9 can also be applied to a nozzle which onlyejects air or a nozzle which only ejects cleaning liquid. Even in thecase of the nozzle which only ejects air or the nozzle which only ejectscleaning liquid, the same effects as those described above can still beobtained.

The present embodiment is applicable to both the first embodiment andthe second embodiment.

Modification of Multi-Blade Fan

Although the multi-blade fan provided with the vibration-proof portionwhich includes the elastic member, the elastic member attachmentportion, and the cage portion is described in the first to thirdembodiments, the vibration-proof portion is not limited to have such aconfiguration. For example, the vibration-proof portion may also beconfigured by a leaf spring or the like. Hereinafter, a modification ofa multi-blade fan using a leaf spring will be described with referenceto the drawings.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a multi-blade fan 104 according of themodification. FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of the multi-bladefan 104 of the modification. FIG. 21 illustrates a connectionrelationship between a support portion 113 and a cage portion 133 of themulti-blade fan 104 of the modification. FIG. 22A is an axial directioncross-sectional view of the multi-blade fan 104 of the modification.FIG. 22B is the axial direction cross-sectional view of the multi-bladefan 104 of the modification. FIG. 22A is a cross-sectional view of aportion including a support portion attachment portion 137 (hereinafter,referred to as an attachment portion 137) of the cage portion 133 takenalong the rotation axis Ax. FIG. 22B is a cross-sectional view of aportion including a first leaf spring 135A of the cage portion 133 takenalong the rotation axis Ax. In FIGS. 22A and 22B, only a housing 112 andthe cage portion 133 are illustrated in cross sections. FIG. 23Aillustrates the cage portion 133 of the multi-blade fan 104 of themodification. FIG. 23B illustrates a state in which the cage portion 133is attached to a motor 121 of the multi-blade fan 104 of themodification. In description of the multi-blade fan 104, description ofmembers already described in the description of the multi-blade fan 4 ofthe first embodiment will be omitted for convenience of description.

As illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20, the multi-blade fan 104 includes amulti-blade fan body portion 110, the motor 121, and the cage portion133. The multi-blade fan 104 is an example of an air blowing portion.The multi-blade fan body portion 110 is an example of an air blowingportion body. The motor 121 is an example of a driving portion.

The multi-blade fan body portion 110 includes an impeller 111, thehousing 112, and the support portion 113. The impeller 111 is rotatedaround the rotation axis Ax by the motor 121 so as to suction air froman air intake port 112 a. The housing 112 accommodates the impeller 111in a substantially doughnut-shaped internal space formed by a fronthousing 112A and a rear housing 112B.

The support portion 113 supports the housing 112. As illustrated in FIG.21, the support portion 113 has a cylindrical shape extending rearwardfrom a rear surface of the rear housing 112B along the rotation axis Ax.In the present embodiment, the support portion 113 is integrally moldedwith the housing 112. The support portion 113 accommodates the motor 121therein. As illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22A, the support portion 113includes an engagement hole 113 a, and is connected to the cage portion133 by engaging an engagement claw 133 a of the cage portion 133 withthe engagement hole 113 a. As illustrated in FIG. 21, the supportportion 113 includes a plurality of plate-like ribs 113 b extendingalong the rotation axis Ax on an inner surface thereof. Among theplurality of ribs 113 b, some of the ribs 113 b guide a rotationprevention portion 138 of the cage portion 133 and lock the rotationprevention portion 138. When the cage portion 133 is attached to thesupport portion 113, the attachment portion 137 of the cage portion 133and the first leaf spring 135A are guided between the adjacent ribs 113b. The ribs 113 b which lock the rotation prevention portion 138 isformed to be shorter than lengths of the other ribs 113 b by an amountcorresponding to the rotation prevention portion 138.

The support portion 113 has a cylindrical shape and is integrally moldedwith the housing 112. However, for example, the support portion 113 mayalso be formed separately from the housing 112, and may be integratedwith the housing 112 by being assembled to or bonded to the housing 112.The support portion 113 may have a tubular shape whose cross section isan elliptical or polygonal.

A configuration of the multi-blade fan body portion 110 other than thesupport portion 113 is the same as the configuration of the multi-bladefan body portion 110 of the first embodiment, and description thereof isomitted for convenience of description.

The cage portion 133 absorbs vibration of the motor 121 while supportingthe motor 121, and prevents the vibration of the motor 121 from beingtransmitted to the support portion 113. The cage portion 133 is providedto cover a side surface and a rear surface of the motor 121. The cageportion 133 includes a flange portion 134, a leaf spring portion 135, abottom portion 136, the attachment portion 137, and the rotationprevention portion 138. The cage portion 133 is made of metal, while theflange portion 134, the leaf spring portion 135, the bottom portion 136,the attachment portion 137, and the rotation prevention portion 138 areintegrally molded.

The flange portion 134 is in contact with the support portion 113. Theflange portion 134 has a ring shape extending radially outward of themotor 121.

The leaf spring portion 135 is in contact with the motor 121 and absorbsthe vibration of the motor 121. The leaf spring portion 135 includes aplurality of the first leaf springs 135A and a plurality of second leafsprings 135B.

Each first leaf spring 135A extends forward from the flange portion 134,and a tip end portion thereof is bent inward. In the present embodiment,six first leaf springs 135A are arranged at equal intervals in aperipheral direction of the flange portion 134. As illustrated in FIG.23A, the first leaf spring 135A includes a linear portion 135Aa, aflexible portion 135Ab, and a contact portion 135Ac. The linear portion135Aa extends from the flange portion 134 along the rotation axis Ax.The flexible portion 135Ab extends from the linear portion 135Aa whilebeing inclined inward relative to the rotation axis Ax. The contactportion 135Ac is provided at a tip end portion bent inward from theflexible portion 135Ab, and is in contact with the motor 121. Thecontact portion 135Ac extends in an axial direction of the motor 121 andis contact with the side surface of the motor 121. As illustrated inFIG. 22B and FIG. 23B, the contact portion 135Ac includes a protrudingportion 135Ad which protrudes inward in a radial direction of the motor121, and is in contact with the front surface of the motor 121. Thecontact portion 135Ac may not include the protruding portion 135Ad.

As illustrated in FIG. 23B, in a state in which the motor 121 isaccommodated in the cage portion 133, the flange portion 134 and theflexible portion 135Ab of the first leaf spring 135A extend along alongitudinal direction of the motor 121 in a state in which the flangeportion 134 and the flexible portion 135Ab are not in contact with themotor 121, and the contact portion 135Ac is in contact with a front endportion of the motor 121. Since the contact portion 135Ac is in contactwith the motor 121, the flexible portion 135Ab is deformed so as toextend parallel to the rotation axis Ax. As a result, a deformationspring force is always generated in the first leaf spring 135A.

The second leaf spring 135B extends rearward from the flange portion 134along the rotation axis Ax. A rear end portion of the second leaf spring135B is bent inward so as to be recessed rearward and is connected tothe bottom portion 136. As illustrated in FIG. 22A, a portion, which isconnected to the bottom portion 136, of the second leaf spring 135B isin contact with a rear end portion of the motor 121, and absorbs thevibration of the motor 121. In the present embodiment, six second leafsprings 135B are arranged at equal intervals in the peripheral directionof the flange portion 134.

The leaf spring portion 135 includes the first leaf spring 135A and thesecond leaf spring 135B. However, the leaf spring portion 135 mayinclude only one of the first leaf spring 135A and the second leafspring 135B. Shapes and numbers of the first leaf springs 135A and thesecond leaf springs 135B are also not limited to shapes and numbers ofthe present embodiment.

The bottom portion 136 is recessed rearward and accommodates the rearend portion of the motor 121.

The attachment portion 137 is engaged with the support portion 113 so asto attach the cage portion 133 to the support portion 113. Theattachment portion 137 extends forward from the flange portion 134 alongthe rotation axis Ax. The attachment portion 137 includes the engagementclaw 133 a at a front end portion thereof. The engagement claw 133 a isengaged with the engagement hole 113 a of the support portion 113. Inthe present embodiment, two attachment portions 137 are arranged atpositions facing each other in the peripheral direction of the flangeportion 134. The attachment portion 137 is arranged radially outwardrelative to the first leaf spring 135A.

The rotation prevention portion 138 prevents rotation of the cageportion 133 relative to the support portion 113. The rotation preventionportion 138 extends forward from the flange portion 134 along therotation axis Ax. The rotation prevention portion 138 includes a notchportion 138 a at a front end portion thereof. The notch portion 138 a isguided and locked by each rib 113 b of the support portion 113. In thepresent embodiment, rotation prevention portions 138 are arranged atfour positions in the peripheral direction of the flange portion 134.The rotation prevention portion 138 is arranged radially outwardrelative to the first leaf spring 135A.

As described above, in the above-described modification, the cageportion 133 which functions as a vibration-proof portion prevents thevibration of the motor 121 from being transmitted to the support portion113. Therefore, the vibration of the motor 121 can be prevented frombeing transmitted to the multi-blade fan body portion 110 of themulti-blade fan 104 via the support portion 113. Generation of vibrationnoise caused by the vibration of the motor 121 can also be prevented.

The cage portion 133 supports the motor 121 and is connected to thesupport portion 113. The cage portion 133 includes the leaf springportion 135 which absorbs the vibration of the motor 121. Therefore,since the vibration of the motor 121 is absorbed by the leaf springportion 135, the vibration of the motor 121 can be prevented from beingtransmitted to the support portion 113 while the motor 121 is supportedby the cage portion 133.

The leaf spring portion 135 includes the first leaf spring 135A which isin contact with a front portion of the motor 121 and the second leafspring 135B which is in contact with a rear portion of the motor 121.Therefore, the vibration of the motor 121 can be further prevented frombeing transmitted to the support portion 113.

The cage portion 133 includes the flange portion 134 which is in contactwith the support portion 113. The first leaf spring 135A extends fromthe flange portion 134 along the motor 121 in a state of not being incontact with the motor 121, and is in contact with the motor 121 at thecontact portion 135Ac. The first leaf spring 135A absorbs the vibrationof the motor 121 transmitted from the contact portion 135Ac, so that thevibration can be prevented from being transmitted to the flange portion134.

The cage portion 133 includes the rotation prevention portion 138 whichis locked to the support portion 113 and prevents the rotation of thecage portion 133 relative to the support portion 113. Therefore, therotation prevention portion 138 can prevent the cage portion 133 frombeing rotated relative to the support portion 113 due to the vibrationof the motor 121.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedabove, it is needless to say that the technical scope of the presentdisclosure should not be construed as being limited by the descriptionof the embodiments. It is to be understood by those skilled in the artthat the present embodiments are merely examples and variousmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention described inthe claims. The technical scope of the present disclosure should bedetermined based on the scope of the invention described in the claimsand the scope of equivalents thereof.

In the above embodiments, an example in which the cleaner unit forvehicles is provided at the rear portion of the vehicle V has beendescribed. However, the cleaner unit for vehicles may also be providedat a front portion of the vehicle V or a side portion of the vehicle V.

In the above-described embodiments, an example in which the cleaningobjects are the back cameras 2A and 302A and the rear cameras 2B and302B has been described. However, for example, the cleaning object maybe any one of the back cameras 2A and 302A and the rear cameras 2B and302B, or may be a camera used for other purposes. The cleaning objectmay also be a sensor different from the camera, such as light detectionand ranging or laser imaging detection and ranging (LiDAR).

In the above embodiments, the air guide tube 8 conveys different amountsof air to the back cameras 2A and 302A and the rear cameras 2B and 302B,which serve as the cleaning objects. However, for example, the air guidetube 8 may also convey the same amount of air to the back cameras 2A and302A and the rear cameras 2B and 302B which serve as the cleaningobjects by changing positions of the partition plate 71 a and the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiments, the cleaners 3 and 203 forvehicles include the non-displacement type multi-blade fans 4 and 104which continuously send out the air as the air blowing portion. However,the cleaners 3 and 203 for vehicles may include an axial flow fan or amixed flow fan which serves as a non-displacement air blowing unit. Inthis case, it is necessary to change a position of the air intake port12 a of the bracket 5 in accordance with an intake port of the axialflow fan or the mixed flow fan. The cleaners 3 and 203 for vehicles mayalso include a compressed air generation portion which serves as the airblowing portion and sends compressed air.

The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No.2019-17124 filed on Feb. 1, 2019, Japanese Patent Application No.2019-17125 filed on Feb. 1, 2019, and Japanese Patent Application No.2019-17126 filed on Feb. 1, 2019, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

1. A cleaner unit for vehicles comprising: a plurality of cleaningobjects arranged side by side in a first direction; an air blowingportion configured to send air, which is to be ejected to the pluralityof cleaning objects, in the first direction; and an air guide tubeconfigured to convey the air from the air blowing portion toward theplurality of cleaning objects, the air guide tube being single, whereinthe air guide tube includes a partition plate arranged midway in thefirst direction along a direction intersecting with the first direction,and changes a direction of a part of the air.
 2. The cleaner unit forvehicles according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing portion includesan outlet through which the air is sent in the first direction, the airguide tube extends in the first direction from the outlet of the airblowing portion, and the partition plate overlaps a part of the outletof the air blowing portion in the first direction.
 3. The cleaner unitfor vehicles according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of cleaningobjects include a first cleaning object and a second cleaning object,the second cleaning object being located farther from the air blowingportion than the first cleaning object, the air guide tube includes afirst opening corresponding to the first cleaning object and a secondopening corresponding to the second cleaning object, and the partitionplate extends toward the first opening.
 4. The cleaner unit for vehiclesaccording to claim 3, wherein the first opening is formed at a positionwhich does not overlap with the outlet of the air blowing portion in thefirst direction, the air guide tube includes a first inner surface whichconnects the outlet of the air blowing portion and the first opening,and the first inner surface extends from the outlet of the air blowingportion toward the first opening.
 5. The cleaner unit for vehiclesaccording to claim 3, wherein the air guide tube includes a second innersurface which connects the outlet of the air blowing portion and thesecond opening, and the second inner surface includes a first portionextending in the first direction from the outlet of the air blowingportion, and a second portion extending from the first portion towardthe second opening.
 6. The cleaner unit for vehicles according to claim3, wherein the air guide tube includes a guide plate extending towardthe second opening from an end portion of the partition plate, the endportion being opposite to an end portion connected to the first opening.7. The cleaner unit for vehicles according to claim 1, wherein thepartition plate extends along a direction orthogonal to the firstdirection.
 8. A cleaner for vehicles comprising: a nozzle configured toeject at least one of a cleaning liquid and air toward a detectionsurface of an in-vehicle sensor, wherein an end portion of one side of atip end of the nozzle in a width direction extends to a downstream sidein an ejection direction as compared with a central portion.
 9. Thecleaner for vehicles according to claim 8, wherein end portions of bothside of the tip end of the nozzle in the width direction extend to thedownstream side in the ejection direction as compared with the centralportion.
 10. The cleaner for vehicles according to claim 8, wherein theend portion of the tip end of the nozzle includes a contact portionwhich is in contact with the in-vehicle sensor.
 11. The cleaner forvehicles according to claim 8, wherein the tip end of the nozzle extendsto the downstream side in the ejection direction while being curved fromthe central portion to the end portion.
 12. The cleaner for vehiclesaccording to claim 8, wherein the nozzle comprises a plurality ofnozzles, and tip ends of the plurality of nozzles have shapes differentfrom each other.
 13. The cleaner for vehicles according to claim 8,wherein the nozzle ejects the cleaning liquid and the air toward thedetection surface of the in-vehicle sensor.
 14. A cleaner unit forvehicles comprising: the cleaner for vehicles according to claim 8; andan in-vehicle sensor.
 15. The cleaner unit for vehicles according toclaim 14, wherein a width of the tip end of the nozzle is larger than awidth of the detection surface of the in-vehicle sensor.
 16. A bracketfor cleaners for vehicles comprising: an attachment portion configuredto attach a cleaning object; and an air guide tube forming portionconfigured to form at least a part of an air guide tube which conveysair to be ejected to the cleaning object.
 17. The bracket for cleanersfor vehicles according to claim 16 wherein the attachment portioncomprises a plurality of attachment portions, and the air guide tubeforming portion includes a branch portion which branches off the airguide tube forming portion in association with the plurality ofattachment portions.
 18. The bracket for cleaners for vehicles accordingto claim 16 further comprising: an accommodating portion configured toaccommodate an air blowing portion which sends the air, which is to beejected to the cleaning object, to the air guide tube, wherein theaccommodating portion communicates with the air guide tube formingportion.
 19. The bracket for cleaners for vehicles according to claim 17further comprising: an accommodating portion configured to accommodatean air blowing portion which sends the air, which is to be ejected tothe plurality of cleaning object, to the air guide tube, wherein theaccommodating portion communicates with the air guide tube formingportion, the plurality of attachment portions includes a back cameraattachment portion configured to attach a back camera and a rear cameraattachment portion configured to attach a rear camera, the accommodatingportion, the back camera attachment portion, and the rear cameraattachment portion are arranged side by side in such an order, and theair guide tube forming portion extends from the accommodating portionalong an arrangement direction of the back camera attachment portion andthe rear camera attachment portion.
 20. A cleaner unit for vehiclescomprising: the bracket for cleaners for vehicles according to claim 16;an cleaning object attached to the attachment portion of the bracket forcleaners for vehicles; and an air blowing portion configured to sendair, which is to be ejected to the cleaning object, to an air guidetube.
 21. The cleaner unit for vehicles according to claim 20 furthercomprising: a cover configured to form a part of the air guide tube; anda nozzle which is integrally formed with the cover and configured toeject the air to the cleaning object, wherein the cover covers the airguide tube forming portion to form the air guide tube together with theair guide tube forming portion.